


Prologue

by starstriker



Series: Postscripts and Related Works [1]
Category: Fablehaven Series - Brandon Mull
Genre: Angst, Bracken's our protagonist but he makes some INTERESTING decisions, Bracken/OMC appears but uh considering canon you know it doesn't last, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Multi, Pre-Canon, Rating May Change, a hot mess of OCs and canon characters, and by interesting I mean bad, guess I'm a demon apologist now, if the title didn't clue you in, me looking at canon: so how can I maul this to fit my mess of a story, the title is weird its a full fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-09-19 06:52:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20326921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starstriker/pseuds/starstriker
Summary: Before Zzyzx, when humanity had just started to build its first civilizations, the prince of light was born. And he was loved, and he was cherished, and he had everything he could ever ask for.But peacetime can't last forever. As new rulers come to power, the world changes permanently for the young prince of the Fairy Kingdom, and he and his four older sisters find themselves in the middle of a conflict that will live on in infamy.Or, Bracken's life before Zzyzx, and all the bad decisions he made along the way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, pros and cons: I'm writing in the postscripts verse again! ...But Seth and Kendra don't appear anywhere in this fic. Still, I need a way to introduce some of the characters that I'll use in that universe, and what better way to do that than an over ambitious long fic. As usual, some elements from Dragonwatch will be used, but it's not canon to the universe. Warnings will be detailed by chapter, major character death applies to OCs only. Depending on how far I get into this fic the rating will probably also change, so far warning as been given on that front. Thanks for reading!

There was a monster in the council room. Bracken and his sister had seen it when they looked through the crack between the doors. He was large, larger than even their eldest sister or their mother’s true form, covered in scales and with a pair of rams horns that curled around his face. Slitted yellow eyes sunken into his head, he sat next to the woman visiting their mother, his head cocked to the side as he seemed to listen to the dulcet tones of the two rulers’ voices, just as they did outside.

“I don’t see why we’re not allowed to go in,” muttered Ambia, who was still examining the creature even when Bracken had looked away. Neither of them had grown in their third horn yet (although Ambia was proud to have the start of the sharp point of her third poking from her forehead, whereas Bracken was still stuck on his second) so they couldn’t assume a human form, but if that creature was allowed in then neither of them saw any reason to be stuck outside. “Agitha’s away with father, and Viona’s off training, so that means that I should get to stay near mother.”

At Bracken’s huff, she glanced towards him. “I’d let you in afterwards! Don’t look so down.”

They watched for a little while longer before realizing that neither the monster or the two women were going to do anything except sit, talk, and drink tea (only the first applied to the former). Tossing her mane, Ambia gestured to her brother. “Come on now, this is boring. Let’s go somewhere else, before we get in trouble for eavesdropping.”

Bracken was a little reluctant to leave, if only because he wanted to look over the dark haired woman that sat adjacent to his mother a bit more. He’d never seen anyone that could match her in presence–not that this newcomer could, but she came close enough that Bracken was intrigued. The crown that sat on her head reminded him of his mother too, the metal coiling around red and violet jewels much like the Fairy Queen’s own silver-blue adornments. The difference was in her radiance–or rather, lack thereof. Whereas his mother shone as if she was born to rival the sun, this woman had no visible aura around her. Not even the weak shine that he was told he had, or the dim glow that both Gilgarol and Silverstrus had, appeared around her. 

“Bracken? You’re coming, right?” 

He turned his head away, looking to his sister, who had paused to examine his own staring with a strange expression of her own. “Of course! Sorry, sorry,” he said, not chancing a final glance through the crack in the door.

If only because, for just a moment, he thought that his eyes had met with hers–eyes that looked just like the yellow gaze of the creature beside her.

The next day, he went to accompany Ambia again. He found himself staying more and more with his middle sister these days–in comparison to Agitha, who was almost two millennia older than him and his father’s favorite, or Viona, who was so engrossed in her training that Bracken could barely get two sentences out of her anymore, or Simphona, who was older than him but sickly and fragile, Ambia felt like the best option available to him. Though prideful and sharp, Ambia had taken to showing him around some of the kingdom now that he was old enough to keep up. The creek that bent around slick river stones in the forest just behind the palace grounds, the castle town that lay to the south–under the watchful eyes of the Astrids, Ambia had taken him to each of her favorite places, letting him experience the wonder of discovery just as she once had. 

So it was strange to not be able to find her. She wasn’t waiting at the edge of the forest for him, nor at the palace gates. She wasn’t bothering Agitha in the library, or trying to take one of their mother’s swords from the armory, or sneaking sugar cubes for the kitchen. It was only about an hour into his search that he thought to look through the main wing of the palace–where Ambia almost never was. 

And yet that was where he found her, walking in the central courtyard with a strange boy that took a form much like the one his mother and father took–in the fact that it was bipedal, had hair on the top of its head, and wore cloth all across its body. That was where the similarities ended. Like the woman he had seen the day before, the boy had no glow around him, and where his parents were steady on their own feet, this one would waver if he walked in any pace faster than a stroll. It was like his legs were new to him, and ill fitted to holding him up. But, despite his constant stumbling, Bracken could hear clear laughter from the boy. It was tinted with embarrassment, his face turning pink as Ambia let him lean on her. From his vantage point at the top of the stairs that led down into the garden, he could hear a murmured conversation. Even without hearing the words, he could tell from his sister’s tone, the one that was normally reserved for her family, that it was clearly friendly.

The feeling that rose in Bracken’s chest at this was not very welcome. It wasn’t like he didn’t want his sister to have any friends, especially since there was no one her own age around the palace–but she hadn’t even told him! It felt like a clear rejection of his company.

“Oh–Bracken, what are you doing over there! Come on down!”

Or maybe not. Startled by the sudden shout, he trotted down the ramp next to the stairs (he longed for the day when he too could assume a form like his mother’s and walk down the steps with ease) and over to his sister. “You didn’t tell me that you were going to be in here today,” he said, trying not to sound accusatory.

She snorted, seemingly amused by his poorly veiled irritation. “This was sort of a last minute thing! Trust me, I didn’t hide anything from you on purpose. But–Bracken, have you met the prince of Aricia?”

His ears perked up at the mention of Aricia. That was one of the kingdoms in the world outside of the Fairy Kingdom–if this was its prince, was the woman he had seen the day before its queen? But, that couldn’t be quite right, because there was no way that visitors from Aricia would be allowed within the palace. After all, the inhabitants of the kingdom, they were–they were–

The boy, who had stayed silent up until now, moved a yellow-eyed gaze away from the gardens andto Bracken’s eyes and spoke. “It’s an honor to meet you, Prince of Light. I am Prince Graulas of Aricia, and the current heir to the throne. I hope you can extend my thanks to the Fairy Queen for inviting us to your beautiful homeland.”

–were demons. 

Ambia looked as if she was trying to gauge his reaction, which was currently a confused head tilt at the boy–the creature from the previous day–in front of him. This child, the one that was just his sister’s age and was leaning on a pillar as to not fall down, was the heir to one of the largest and most fearsome bastions of demonic power? Bracken knew that the Fairy Kingdom had laid siege to it before–why were they suddenly strolling along with its prince? Why was its ruler here? The confusion must have shown on his face, because the other prince stood straight up.

“I promise you, we don’t have any ill intentions,” he said, which would have worked better if Bracken hadn’t noticed the rows of sharp teeth that his humanoid form hadn’t concealed. “We only wish for better relations with our neighbors–my mother wished for a better future for both of our nations.” The words sounded rehearsed, but Bracken couldn’t find an obvious lie in them. What sort of ruler would wish for constant war? Bracken had, of course, heard stories of demonic bloodlust, but it was much harder to believe with Prince Graulas in front of him. The creature, which must have been Prince Graulas’s true form, was everything that he had expected out of a demon, but the boy standing before him acted just like his older sisters did. And the woman–her features might have been strange to him, but if the Queen of Aricia could look at his mother with such warmth and earnestness in her gaze, could sip her tea so delicately, maybe she wasn’t so bad. 

He took a chance. “Okay,” he started, trying to acccept his thoughts as truth, if just for now. “How are you able to make that form?” he asked, moving the conversation to a more familiar ground. While it was clearly an imperfect form (the fangs that flashed in his mouth were proof of that), it was still impressive that someone his sister’s age could conjure up anything at all. 

Graulas seemed to struggle for a moment, like he was stuck between trying to look humble or bragging. “Well, it might be a bit...advanced,” he said, smiling as he indulged Bracken’s curiousity. “But–my mother always did say I was a bit of a prodigy. It was a bit of that, a fair amount of practice, and...a little luck, I’d say. If you’d like to know the truth, this is one of the first times I’ve managed to hold it steady for so long.”

Grudgingly impressed by it already, Bracken couldn’t find a fault in the answer, though he was smart enough to catch onto the fact that he didn’t give any specifics. It seemed that the other prince was not so forthcoming as to reveal anything about how to actually craft the spell that would allow a demon to take a human form. Which, Bracken acknowledged made sense. Even with the reason for the strange visit explained, Bracken couldn’t see himself telling the other anything about any of their nation’s magic. 

As the two princes paused in their conversation, Ambia saw her opportunity to insert herself back into the conversation. “Well, now you two know each other, that’s great. Thanks for coming by Bracken–I’m going to show Prince Graulas around now, okay? I’ll catch you this evening.”

Taking the cue that he wasn’t welcome to follow them–a cue he acknowledged with a bit of bitterness–he watched the two walk off, taking a slow pace as they did. It was then that he noticed the new tone in Ambia’s voice, this one unfamiliar. Combined with her oddly shy behavior, and her nervousness, it painted a picture that Bracken didn’t particularly want to examine. 

He frowned after her. His sister chatting and being friendly with a demon prince was one thing, but having a crush on him? That was just weird. Hopefully it was because he was the only person that wasn’t related to her that was even close to her age that she had gotten to meet. The alternative–that she was genuinely interested in a demon of all things–was absolutely too bizarre to consider. 

Older kids were so weird, Bracken decided as he shook his head, before trotting off to go see if Viona was at all willing to entertain him. Hopefully he’d never have to grow up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Graulas as a weird suspicious demon child, he'l be popping up some more before he gets to his canon self lol.
> 
> A few other things: I figure I'll do little character intros down here: most ages and positions, with a little blurb, because there are tons and tons of characters and tons and tons of OCs. So:
> 
> PRINCE BRACKEN: The youngest of the Fairy Queen and the Fairy King's five children, and the only boy. About unicorn 6 years old and amazingly precocious.  
PRINCESS AMBIA: The middle child of the Fairy Queen and Fairy King's five children. A mischievous child with AWFUL taste in men. About unicorn 11 years old.  
PRINCE GRAULAS: The only child of Queen Aricia, and heir to the throne. Seemingly a prodigy in magic. About demon 11/12 years old.
> 
> As usual, if you liked it and would like to see more, feel free to give a kudos and say as much in the comments! Thanks again for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nearly 400 years after the Prince of Aricia's visit, Bracken's elder sister Agitha tells him of her newest discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Both unicorns and demons age at a rate of about one year (maturity wise) every 200 years in this verse, which may be helpful to consider going forward.

Despite Bracken’s wishes, time insisted on moving forward. Nearly four hundred years had passed since the Arician delegation’s visit, although it had not been the only time they had seen the young Prince Graulas and Queen Aricia. It was a poorly kept secret that Ambia and the other nation’s prince had kept in correspondence over the centuries, and an even more poorly kept secret that the two showed a strange friendship to one another on Graulas’s sparse visits to the Fairy Kingdom. Ambia, who had ended up having a natural predilection towards sorcery, had been endlessly attempting to create her human avatar without growing her third horn, to little success. Bracken didn’t mind it so much though–after all, as his second horn fully grew in, he was able to learn more and more from his older sister’s experiments. He grew to have a greater understanding of some of his other sisters as well–though he was still closest to Ambia, Agitha’s quiet grace appealed to him, and Viona would at least look at him now that he had grown a bit more. And hence, it was on a summer morning, when the air was light and a brush of clouds graced to sky, that Agitha requested his presence in the library.

Another poorly kept secret (the Fairy Kingdom had many of these) was that despite all her hard work, Agitha never seemed to be the best at anything she did. Perhaps that was a bit too harsh–after all, his eldest sister was one of the kindest and most dignified people he knew. But she was not growing to be a great beauty like their mother, and she was not as naturally gifted at sorcery as Ambia, and she did not have Viona’s strength that his second eldest sister put into her furious attacks, and she did not have Simphona’s healing abilities that were so cherished in their kingdom. What she did have was her studious nature, and a few centuries of experience over her siblings, both of which she was sure to put to use. It made Bracken curious as to what he was being summoned for: Agitha had a fairly consistent schedule, where she would spend her mornings on a run through the woods, and then would settle down in the library to study until evening, and her siblings would catch glimpses of her throughout the night, when she would see how her family was doing. 

That meant that Agitha had departed from her schedule. And that was a strange thing indeed. 

So it was with some trepidation that Bracken entered the library, not too sure what would await him. The initial sight, of his sister resting on the floor, was not too unfamiliar to him: what was unfamiliar was the silver glow of her magic shining around her horn, that he had only seen a few times before. He paused, not sure if he should come any closer.

His sister had her eyes closed, but her ears flicked at his arrival. “Bracken,” she said, her voice sounding far off. “I’m glad you could make it. You’re the person I wanted to show this to first.”

She stood on shaky hooves, tilting her head as the thin tendrils of light shone around her horn. Bright energy consolidated around its sharp point, and he could see how she fixed her stance to help her handle the overflowing power. For a moment, Bracken started, as it crackled and lashed out, barely contained by Agitha. Just as he prepared to go fetch one of the guards from outside, a wave of light overtook his sister. In the face of such brilliance, he winced, his ears pressing against his head. Trying to turn back, he squinted towards his sister.

The light began to recess, letting Bracken see once again. Where once the familiar form of his sister had stood, a stranger rose on flat, shaky feet, her hands flexing stretching out as if to revel in their newness. The dress that covered her was long enough to fall in puddles around her, the pale-as-moonlight fabric dragging on the ground. It was only when she looked up, and he saw his sister’s familiar soft expression on a strange face that he could once again recognize her. 

A few hesitant steps were taken towards him, arms held out like a bird would hold out their wings. “...What do you think?” Agitha asked him, guileless eyes wide as if she was surprised by her own success. “I wished I looked more like Mother but–I think, I can see a little bit of Father, in my face? The nose and proportions, right? I think I have his hair, too.”

When her brother didn’t respond, she continued. “I’ve heard that they can change too, if you spend time with different types of humans. We tend to fit in with our surroundings. But...I sort of like this form. It’s…” 

Agitha struggled for a moment, flexing her hands again and examining her wiry hands. “It’s me,” she decided. “It definitely looks like me.”

Bracken wasn’t too sure about that, himself. But then again, he had only ever known his sister in her unicorn form–and that’s when the enormity of what had just happened hit him. His sister had gotten a new form! A proper, human avatar, just ahead of schedule. A form like their mother’s, like their father’s, that meant she could join parts of adult society. This was the form that would allow her to move ahead in life.

And it was a form that would allow her to leave her siblings behind.

“I’m happy for you,” he said as earnestly as possible, but the thought stung at his heart. He already felt as if he didn’t see his eldest sister enough–and now, she would be further removed from him than ever before. 

He relayed this event to Viona later that day, who was focusing more on destroying the target dummy with thin bolts of silver energy then what Bracken was telling her. Few people actually dared to talk to Viona when she was training–not out of fear of her control, as she had long grown out of her original haywire spells, but because she had a sort of single minded focus that was hard to disrupt. Her young siblings, however, would frequently come to her when they need to tell someone something that they didn’t really want known. After all, there was such a small chance that Viona would actually listen.

“I’m definitely happy for her, but I’m also–I don’t know, I guess I’m being a little unfair to her. After all, she did show me! That has to mean something, right?”

“Mm.”

“She’s ahead of schedule too, that’s great. Not that she’d ever say anything about it, she’s way to nice. Father’s definitely going to be happy about it, and it’s really good for Agitha to have something like that, right? I know that she’s always working so hard…”

“Mm.”

“Do you think she’ll be allowed to attend Mother’s meetings now? That’s what I think, but I’m not entirely sure,” he babbled to her. “It looked really good, but sometimes there’s flaws, you know? But I don’t think Agitha would show me any unfinished work.”

“Mm,” he once again received in response. It was the same response he had gotten for the last thirty minutes.

“Yes, she definitely wouldn’t. So, I bet she’ll be able to meet with Queen Aricia, next time she visits, right? Graulas is already allowed in. I don’t understand why he’s allowed inside, but we aren’t. Wait, never mind–Agitha’s already allowed in, I don’t know how I forgot that. It’s Ambia who’s not allowed in.”

“That’s because Ambia’s a fool who’d cause a diplomatic incident.”

“Probably, actually–wait, you’ve been actually listening?”

Viona paused in her continued assault of the training dummy. “Bracken, what are you talking about. I always listen to you.”

And just like that, Bracken’s expectations for his two elder sisters fell apart in one day. _This was the worst,_ he thought miserably to himself. _I’ve told her so much under the assumption that she was blocking it all, and only now do I find out she’s been paying attention all along? I don’t even remember all the secrets I’ve spilled here._

It had not been Bracken’s finest day. Agitha had gotten a cool new skill that would further remove her from her younger siblings, and apparently Viona had been much closer than he had ever expected from her. 

“Oh,” he said a little weakly. “That’s–great, thank you so much Viona.”

“It’s not an issue,” she told him, scrutinizing him a little. “What did you think...well, never mind. Good for Agitha, and all.”

“Yeah, great for Agitha,” he said, starting to try and make his escape from the suddenly uncomfortable room. “I’ll see you later, Viona!”

With that, he made a hasty retreat, trying to run from the awkwardness of not realizing the person he was talking to had been actually hearing him all along.

***

Viona watched Bracken practically gallop out the door, keeping her face carefully blank as he did so. The second he was out of sight, she let her schooled expression fall. _If only Agitha wasn’t so diligent in this,_ she thought, pointedly ignoring the age gap between her and her elder sister. _But then, I’m just as determined as she is, and what do I have to show for it?_

She glanced out at her target, smoldering holes burned through it. Compared to a complete transformation spell, it seemed suddenly limited, when just a few moments ago she had felt proud of her growing precision. All she knew was a handful of combat spells, things that could keep her alive if she was lucky, while Agitha had dabbled in just about everything. A bit of transmutation (which had earned her the new form that she had apparently told Bracken, but no one else about), and bit of conjuration–even a bit of Viona’s own offensive spells, just to prove she could do them. From what she had gathered, Bracken seemed to be of the opinion that Agitha was studious but ultimately untalented–and nothing could be further from the truth.

Agitha lacked commitment. She could have been good at any of the schools of magic by now, but instead–

_–she has to try and be good at everything,_ Viona despaired. _And she has the audacity to actually do so._

Turning away from the practice field, Viona left for her rooms. Perhaps it was time she began to expand on her own talents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More notes:
> 
> PRINCE BRACKEN: Now about 8 years old.
> 
> PRINCESS AGITHA: The oldest child of the Fairy Queen. About unicorn 16 years old.
> 
> PRINCESS VIONA: The second oldest child of the Fairy Queen. About unicorn 14/15 years old.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
